President Jacob Zuma’s former spokesperson and special adviser Mac Maharaj has pleaded with the public to give him some time to recover before answering any further questions about his health.

“I just need some time to recover. Please give me a bit of a break,” said Maharaj, 80, on Monday.

While confirming that he would be undergoing surgery for lung cancer, Maharaj refused to disclose which hospital he is being treated at. He was reportedly admitted to a Durban hospital on Wednesday and was expected to have an operation soon.

“If I give you more information, then everybody else is also going to want to know about my health. Just give me a break,” said Maharaj, who retired last month.

Maharaj told Netwerk24 earlier he was confident that the lung cancer he was diagnosed with was not a death sentence.

A source close to the Maharaj family said: “He has early stage cancer on his lung and he has been undergoing surgery and treatment. I believe it is only stage one cancer.”

The source confirmed that Maharaj was recovering at an Umhlanga hospital: “The family wants privacy. They do not want a flood of visitors coming to the hospital.”

A nursing manager at the hospital Maharaj is apparently being treated at said: “I cannot answer any questions of that nature because it would be in breach of the patient-doctor confidentiality agreement.” News24